PEARTREE LIFE: Experiencing Languages

Our day in Cardiff Bay


If somebody mentions Cardiff Bay the things that immediately pop into my mind are Dr. Who, Welsh Assembly, Millennium Centre and the barrage (if the weather is nice). In fact the Bay is one of my favourite parts of Cardiff and I wanted to show our students at least some of this interesting part of the city.

Listening to the history of Welsh democracy
It was a nice day, well it wasn’t rainy so we can say the weather was good. We managed to escape the rugby fever in the city centre (Wales vs Fiji) and head off to the Bay – thanks to Gianni for the fashion show in the fluffy sheep hat (rugby accessory!).

Our first stop in Cardiff Bay was the Welsh Assembly where we had a tour from an experienced guide and friend of the school, Gareth. He showed us the main chamber and explained everything about the Welsh parliament and the history of democracy. The chamber was a big hit with the students, ‘beautiful’ according to Hamza.

The whole group together
Gareth also told us some interesting facts about the petition system in Wales. For instance, did you know that you need only ten signatures if you want your petition to be discussed in the parliament? And you don’t even need to be Welsh. Quite interesting, isn’t it?

In my opinion the best part of the whole Assembly is the new style of architecture. All the pieces of the building, the facade, the interior, windows and even the heating system were designed so that the whole building is sustainable (environmentally friendly).

Selfie has to be
After the tour in Senedd we carried on with our trip and visited Pier head, a big terracotta building that used to be an administrative office for the Port of Cardiff. Now the building is used to reflect Welsh culture and is a key venue for live discussion. Our students and I watched a short video about the history of Cardiff Bay and the docks which is free for all visitors. 

Please trust me, I know this weather


Watching video about Cardiff bay
Some of our students are keen walkers, so a part of our plan was a short walk down the barrage. As I mentioned before, the weather was good but foggy and blustery, no rain. The weather situation on the barrage is usually very different but that didn’t stop us attempting the walk. However, as you pass the Dr. Who experience centre and the skate park, the weather changes and is very windy and cold. Some students and I decided to go back to the Norwegian church and have lunch, but our tough Italian and Arabic men decided that they wanted to walk further and see the end of the barrage. As I predicted, they came back a bit later and joined us in the Norwegian church saying: It was very nice, but it was very, very windy. Well, I know what I am talking about.

During our break in the Norwegian church we had time to discuss some cultural differences, mainly on the topics of husbands and boyfriends! We had the opportunity to talk about travelling, studying and we couldn’t forget about the lifestyle of Welsh people. 

Who is the best bowling "teacher"?


Our Italians
After the break and a reunion with our “weatherproof” students we went for our afternoon activity– bowling. Divided into two teams we started the game. For some of us it was our first game ever, but because one of our Italians is a very good teacher; everybody got the basics pretty quickly. And also I can’t forget our great supporter – our Libyan student’s son who was cheering every time someone scored. :)
Some of the students were very good and some of them were very strong. They threw the bowling ball with such power that we thought we would never see either the bowling ball or the skittles again! Obviously our Italian bowling “teacher” was the best player and after couple of selfies and team pictures we decided to go back to the city centre, where we had the opportunity to discuss the Christmas decorations, learned a couple of new words (dwarf, gnome, reindeer) and went to watch the rugby match.
Bowling team n. 1
I think that everybody enjoyed the trip and found something interesting, we got to know each other better and had a really nice time. 

Bowling team n. 2
Please join us on December 13th for our student Christmas Day with Tristan! More information coming soon. All welcome.


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About Peartree Languages

Peartree Languages is a language school located in Cardiff.

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